Has anyone lost 20 pounds in a month
liyah1985
Posts: 5 Member
Yes I know majority of people will say it’s not healthy, that you’ll gain it back, that it’s impossible... but I know it’s possible and I know the risk. The most I’ve lost was 14 pounds and I tried really hard. What I want to know is, if working out 5 days a week fo 90 minuets and eating 1100 calories is enough to lose 20 pounds. I’ve always stuck with a 1200-1400 calorie count but that’s only got me to 14 pounds in a month. If you’ve ever lost 20 pounds in a month what did you do?
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How much do you weigh now?0
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Yes I have.
It was not intentional. I was really sick for about 3 weeks and could barely take in more than 700-900 calories daily. I think it was due to the medications I had to take during that time.
I don't advise it because honestly, I felt extremely weak and very tired. I had no energy.16 -
You would have to have a calorie deficit of 2500 calories a day. That means you would have to burn 3600 a day -- and that's for suboptimal nutrition at 1100 calories.
It would be incredibly unsafe, and incredibly unsustainable.
But hey. If that's what you want to do, you go do you and burn 3600 calories a day. 5 days a week for 90 minutes each isn't going to cut it.14 -
Why do you want to lose 20 pounds in a month?11
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Your goal makes perfect sense for fast and relatively safe weight loss for a 460lb person.
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But she doesn't have to worry: there is a 270lb guy further down who has been doing this and more for 8 weeks now and is at 217.
I wonder if his and her insurance will cover gallstone surgery if unsafe weight loss contributes to the need for such!
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I went from 184.4 to 168.6 over 2 weeks in October of last year. That is 16 lb. That's the lowest number I've been at in the last year, and marked the lowest I'd reached in my adult life. From that low point I gained, gained, and gained more. I'm trying to lose again. In fact, that 184.4 on October 15 was the high after a brief period of eating more than I should have.7
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^ This.Your goal makes perfect sense for fast and relatively safe weight loss for a 460lb person.
You can safely lose about 20 lbs in a month if it’s your first month of dieting, if you have a lot of water weight, and if you weigh more than 300 lbs.
Otherwise, it’s one of those things like driving blindfolded or going over Niagara Falls in a barrel: yeah, it’s possible, but that does’t mean it’s anywhere near being a good idea.
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Only? Your thinking regarding weight loss is skewed and you are not being realistic.Yes I know majority of people will say it’s not healthy, that you’ll gain it back, that it’s impossible... but I know it’s possible and I know the risk. The most I’ve lost was 14 pounds and I tried really hard. What I want to know is, if working out 5 days a week fo 90 minuets and eating 1100 calories is enough to lose 20 pounds. I’ve always stuck with a 1200-1400 calorie count but that’s only got me to 14 pounds in a month. If you’ve ever lost 20 pounds in a month what did you do?
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If it takes you longer than a month will you still want the 20 pounds off?9
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I haven't lost 20 lbs in a month because I know better. Starving yourself and over-exercising, in addition to probably still not getting you down 20 lbs in a month, will possibly screw up your hormones and metabolism, cause your hair to fall out, leave you fatigued and foggy, and intensify whatever internal damage you've already caused by losing weight really fast. And all of that will likely lead to rebound bingeing, leaving you back at square one with less muscle and a slightly lower TDEE.
We get posts here all the time from people who insisted on losing weight fast, but found when they reached their goal they were unhappy with how droopy and out of shape they looked and how little food they had to eat to try to maintain it. I hope you can learn from others mistakes before you regret it
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I haven't lost 20 lbs in a month because I know better. Starving yourself and over-exercising, in addition to probably still not getting you down 20 lbs in a month, will possibly screw up your hormones and metabolism, cause your hair to fall out, leave you fatigued and foggy, and intensify whatever internal damage you've already caused by losing weight really fast. And all of that will likely lead to rebound bingeing, leaving you back at square one with less muscle and a slightly lower TDEE.
We get posts here all the time from people who insisted on losing weight fast, but found when they reached their goal they were unhappy with how droopy and out of shape they looked and how little food they had to eat to try to maintain it. I hope you can learn from others mistakes before you regret it
QFT.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html/5 -
During my first month of undiagnosed diabetes (which came on suddenly - I have tests close to this date which show I had normal levels only a few months earlier - due to severe stress from an undiagnosed ovarian tumor and torsion) I lost 27 lbs, from 272 to 145. Basically due to the stress hormones blocking my insulin from working at all I was not able to process food and was starving to death - I ate everything not nailed down, whole bags of Halloween candy, because I never felt full, because the sugar wasn't being metabolized. It's rare for type 2 diabetes to come on suddenly and cause weight loss, but in cases of really high stress hormones it can. It's more common for type 1 diabetics to lose weight rapidly due to too little insulin, for the same reason. Of course uncontrolled diabetes is really not good for your body - my blood sugar when it was tested at the end of this month was almost 300 - and the rapid weight loss made all my hair start falling out about four months later.
As has been mentioned, the safe amount of weight for you to lose is based not just on how many pounds a week but on your own weight. A five hundred pound person could safely lose 5 lbs a week. If you weigh less than this, be more patient, it's not fun losing most of your hair!7 -
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Good grief, let's not start a contest!
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I’m trying to get approved for a surgery but the doctor won’t approve me until I lose 30 pounds so my BMI will be healthy. I lost 10 pounds but they won’t send off the pre authorization to my insurance until I lose the other 20. I was trying to get the surgery in November to accommodate my job. So yeah I appreciate everyone’s sarcastic remarks but it’s kind important and I know the risks.7
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OK. I will be sensitive because it sucks that you're caught between a rock and a hard place.
Weight loss slows the closer you get to a normal weight. That's because your TDEE becomes lower as you lose weight. Simultaneously your ratio of fat to lean mass lost also "deteriorates" the closer you are to normal weight and the larger the deficit you are applying. Little issues such as gallstones, malnutrition, and ED type ideation are not uncommon side effects of extreme deficits, especially when you're near or at a normal weight.
It is one thing to be trying to get from Obese III to Obese II at an extremely fast rate and a different thing to be trying to get from overweight to normal weight at a similar rate.
If your surgeon considers the timing of this operation to be critical I am surprised that they have not referred you to a medically supervised emergency weight loss program. The lack of such referral plus their insistence on waiting till you hit BMI 25 to ask for insurance approval makes me think that getting the operation in November is not a strict medical necessity.
Personally I would review my timelines and, if possible, I would pick an alternative time a good few months in the future to aim for.
Otherwise the advice and support you need goes beyond MFP and your doctor should refer you to an appropriate rapid weight loss hospital run program.12 -
It doesn't matter what people on the internet think is possible or not possible what we think will have minimal impact on what you achieve.
Look you've got to lose the weight in any case to get the surgery. If you lose 5lbs, 11lbs, 7lbs or 14lbs you're going to be that much closer to your goal come the end of the month.
I don't know what surgery your trying to get but be careful that whatever drastic steps you take don't cause complications elsewhere. Have you told the Dr who told you to lose 20lbs that you are trying to do it in a month?
FWIW I think it's an unrealistic target and may be counter productive - but that's not what you want to hear.8 -
I’m trying to get approved for a surgery but the doctor won’t approve me until I lose 30 pounds so my BMI will be healthy. I lost 10 pounds but they won’t send off the pre authorization to my insurance until I lose the other 20. I was trying to get the surgery in November to accommodate my job. So yeah I appreciate everyone’s sarcastic remarks but it’s kind important and I know the risks.
I wouldn't be surprised if your doctor ended up being alarmed by you (or anyone) losing 20 lbs in a month and not approving surgery for that reason. Of course, even if they aren't concerned, anesthesiology could put the kibosh on it because of various medical related reasons (all related to making sure that you make it through your surgery as safely as possible).3 -
Well... considering your need, if the doctor absolutely won't budge, you can probably lose enough plus water and waste to get the doctor's scale to read that number for long enough to get your surgery approved without losing 20 lbs of fat. Not ideal but it may be better than the alternative for you.
Is this a knee surgery? I have a friend who recently had knee surgery and her doctor had mercy on her and waved the requirement because she really needed to have the surgery in order to be more active which would help her lose weight easier. The doctor said no several times, but she just wouldn't take no for an answer, and eventually got what she needed. Particularly since you are very close to normal weight you might be able to change someone's mind if you keep asking.2 -
It’s for a breast reduction to help back pain. The doctor suggested 3.5 months, but I only lost 10 pounds in 2 months because I guess I wasn’t trying hard enough. I didn’t know they weren’t going to send off the pre authorization to my insurance until I met weight. Now I’m under pressure since I only lost 10 pounds in 2 months because I already told my job November. I have to lose the 20 pounds in a month. I lost a pound today, so maybe it will work out. I’m not trying to do this the unhealthy way just strict.... egg whites, carrots, spinach, half banana, cabbage, broccoli, and a 3 ounce chicken breast has enough nutrients in them for a day and are low in calories. I’m thinking of going to 800 calories a day.11
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I’m trying to get approved for a surgery but the doctor won’t approve me until I lose 30 pounds so my BMI will be healthy. I lost 10 pounds but they won’t send off the pre authorization to my insurance until I lose the other 20. I was trying to get the surgery in November to accommodate my job. So yeah I appreciate everyone’s sarcastic remarks but it’s kind important and I know the risks.
Presurgical nutrition can have a significant impact on post surgical healing. Any measures taken to lose weight that quickly could compromise your recover. Can you delay it until early next year?6 -
It’s for a breast reduction to help back pain. The doctor suggested 3.5 months, but I only lost 10 pounds in 2 months because I guess I wasn’t trying hard enough. I didn’t know they weren’t going to send off the pre authorization to my insurance until I met weight. Now I’m under pressure since I only lost 10 pounds in 2 months because I already told my job November. I have to lose the 20 pounds in a month. I lost a pound today, so maybe it will work out. I’m not trying to do this the unhealthy way just strict.... egg whites, carrots, spinach, half banana, cabbage, broccoli, and a 3 ounce chicken breast has enough nutrients in them for a day and are low in calories. I’m thinking of going to 800 calories a day.
Can you talk to you employer and let them know there was a delay and it will take longer? They don't need to know the details. What you have listed here for foods is not going to be enough nutritionally speaking. Protein is so important for surgical would healing.5 -
I think you may need to renegotiate the the timing of your medical leave with your employer. As others have said, even if you could lose the 20 lbs by November, the rapid weight loss could put you at risk for all sorts of problems that might prevent the surgery anyway. If your employer gives you trouble over this, perhaps you could ask your doctor for a letter explaining the medical inadvisability of proceeding with the surgery as scheduled.It’s for a breast reduction to help back pain. The doctor suggested 3.5 months, but I only lost 10 pounds in 2 months because I guess I wasn’t trying hard enough. I didn’t know they weren’t going to send off the pre authorization to my insurance until I met weight. Now I’m under pressure since I only lost 10 pounds in 2 months because I already told my job November. I have to lose the 20 pounds in a month. I lost a pound today, so maybe it will work out. I’m not trying to do this the unhealthy way just strict.... egg whites, carrots, spinach, half banana, cabbage, broccoli, and a 3 ounce chicken breast has enough nutrients in them for a day and are low in calories. I’m thinking of going to 800 calories a day.
OTOH, this same doctor advised you to lose 30 lbs in 16 weeks, which is twice as fast as is considered healthy for someone within 30 lbs of BMI = 25. That makes me wonder whether perhaps you should be looking for a better doctor.
And let's not overlook this:
You lost 10 lbs in two months. That's not because you weren't trying hard enough. That's because you were doing things right. You achieved 1/3 of your planned weight loss at a healthy rate, and you deserve to be richly congratulated. Hurrah for @liyah1985!!!
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Have you been that thin recently? Have you considered that your breasts may shrink if you lose weight?3
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